While American network interest in TV movies has waned in recent years, Canadian producers are benefiting from the huge demand for MOWs from U.S. cable casters.

In 2006, Canadian prodco spending on MOWs, miniseries, pilots and shorts increased 50% to $287 million, according to Playback’s 19th Annual Report on Independent Production. Insight Film Studios (Vancouver), Blueprint Entertainment (Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles) and Incendo Productions (Montreal) are among the Canadian companies that have tapped into this market, especially for MOWs.

‘The TV movie business has really changed over the last five years,’ says Blueprint chair and CEO John Morayniss. ‘All the major networks used to be in the TV movie business, but that has now shifted to the cable networks such as Sci-Fi Network and Lifetime, which are increasingly looking to Canadian producers to help get these movies made.’

These cable outlets don’t have the money the big networks have, so partnering with Canadian companies that can bring financing from tax credits and domestic broadcasters is critical.

Insight nearly tripled its production levels to $120 million in 2006, with TV movies accounting for around $70 million of that.

‘I am in a strong position when I go into an American cable network, because I can bring to the table 32% of the budget in tax credits, 5% to 7% from a Canadian broadcaster, and I can bank on another 10% in foreign money,’ says Insight CEO Kirk Shaw.

Shaw uses foreign distributors to sell its TV movies internationally, but says that in the coming year Insight will expand into distribution to sell its growing slate of movies itself. Judicial Indiscretion and Ties That Bind are among the MOWs Insight shot last year.

Similarly, Blueprint has its sights on increasing the value of its MOWs on the international market by selling them in packages. Fueling its expansion plans is a recent buy-in by producer Robert Lantos and former Tri-Star Pictures president Jeff Sagansky, and the company’s subsequent acquisition of a stake in Canadian distributor Oasis International.

Blueprint shot $17 million worth of TV movies in 2006 (including MOWs Absolution and Cradle of Lies), and Morayniss says the company’s strategy includes making six to eight lower-budget ($1 million to $2 million) movies per year for Lifetime, as well as developing more expensive movies in the $3 million to $4 million range for the cable caster.

Incendo Productions, meanwhile, shot $20 million worth of TV movies in 2006.

Company principal Stephen Greenberg says Incendo has found its niche developing higher-budget ($3 million to $5 million) thriller and mystery MOWs which have international appeal, such as Abducted and Legacy of Fear.

Its movies are financed with Canadian pay outlets The Movie Network, Super Écran and Movie Central, second windows on other Canadian channels such as TVA and Citytv, a licence from Lifetime in the U.S., presales to all the major international territories, and tax credits.

‘With the growth of satellite and digital TV and private TV stations in Europe, there is a whole new shelf space for this programming,’ says Greenberg. ‘We have found that these edgier thrillers meet the needs of the international and the North American marketplace.’

But the international market can be fickle, so companies are not putting all their eggs in the TV movie basket.

Insight diversified into feature film in 2006, shooting $27 million worth of big-screen productions, including the Pamela Anderson/Denise Richards comedy Blonde and Blonder and the drama Battle in Seattle, starring Woody Harrelson and Charlize Theron.

All of Insight’s features are financed without Telefilm Canada – using company equity, tax credits, foreign presales and equity partnerships. Insight also produced $19 million in TV series (Blood Ties, Painkiller Jane) in 2006. ‘So if the TV movie market suddenly dropped, our company would survive,’ says Shaw.

Blueprint is also heavily diversified. The Best Years, its latest series, was developed with The N, shot in Toronto and will launch on Global as a Cancon show this month. 

Morayniss points out that for Canadian broadcasters, working with American cable channels brings in additional financing, so they don’t necessarily have to dip into their Canadian Television Fund envelope to get a series made.

‘It’s a win-win situation,’ he says.